


Progress

by penombrelilas (crookedspoon)



Series: Days Gone By [2]
Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Chasing, Community: 100_prompts, Community: 31_days, Community: teamtheme, Gen, Growing Distance, Growth, Realization, Wordcount: 100-500
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-09
Updated: 2008-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-13 02:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1209880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/penombrelilas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Kamio finally sees the distance between them, he knows he'll have to step up before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Progress

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the prompts " _Kamio is chasing Shinji (figuratively or literally, you decide). 350 words._ " during teamtheme's Fudoumine month, #53 "Destination" from 100_prompts and March 09, 2008 "Beyond your reach." from 31_days

Ideally, boys grow up watching the back of their father, a stepping stone on the way to manhood they have to surpass. In reality, Kamio couldn't recall if he has ever striven to be like his oyaji. It was Tachibana he had chosen as a role model for himself the second he had witnessed his ability.

After Tachibana’s graduation, however, the drive to become a player he could be proud of soon faded; he gradually lost sight of Tachibana, the way he lost himself among piles of paperwork or the assessment of his team's skills. All the same, he shouldn't have lost sight of Shinji's growth, but during practice he concentrated hard on catching his players' flaws, while outside of it he discussed methods for improvement with vice-captain Mori and Tetsu. Akira should have noticed how distant his relationship with his best friend (could he still call him that now?) had become. Where Shinji had called him everyday, and Akira in turn stalked his friend's homeroom during lunch break, they rarely talked now, apart from the few words on court management.

Only during the ranking matches in June did Akira notice how far down the road Shinji had gone, how distant and unreachable his back had become. Only then, he realized that it had been Shinji all along, whom he had wanted to catch up to and play on par with.

It threw him off his rhythm. At first he was furious ( _How could he not spare me one backward glance at least?_ ), then embarrassed ( _I didn't notice when he did!_ ), then determined to catch up ( _You won't get away_ ). And so he was back to speeding up his training and keeping tabs on Shinji's growth. As the captain, he had to set an example, had to be their pillar of support, had to drive them every day to become better, just like Tachibana had done.

It was okay if he could barely spot Tachibana's back in the distance, he's come to terms with that. But Akira wouldn't stop running after Shinji at break-neck speed until they were shoulder-to-shoulder again.

**Author's Note:**

>  _oyaji_ : a way to address one's father, usually translated as "old man" or "pops"


End file.
